On Sunday afternoon, England beat Ukraine 2-0, with Harry Kane breaking the deadlock on the 37th minute with a straightforward volley off a fine in-swinging Bukayo Saka cross.
Three minutes later, the provider, Saka, had turned into the finisher with an audacious left footed effort that curled past Anatoliy Trubin in goal, giving the Three Lions their second win of the week.
Gareth Southgate met with journalists after to give his opinion on today’s game and the week of footballing action, which has left England in a commanding position in the group, with six points out of six.
Southgate described how he was really impressed with England’s performance. He said: “I thought today was a really high level performance with and without the ball for the entire game. The players were exceptional, they made a potentially complicated game look straightforward, I was really pleased with what they did."
The England manager also contrasted today’s complete control, throughout the 90 minutes, with the Jekyll and Hyde performance of Thursday night, against Italy.
He said: “We started both halves with far better control, our back players really used the ball well, composed and the midfield were excellent in turnovers and counter pressure to win the ball back quickly."
Southgate chose to go with a midfield three of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson, describing all three as "outstanding", adding that “we didn’t tire of doing the simple things well."
Phil Foden, who would have been a likely addition to that England midfield, had to pull out of the England squad prior to Sunday’s game due to having to have his appendix removed. In his post-match conference, Southgate helped to describe the circumstances surrounding Foden’s withdrawal.
He said: “Over the last 24 to 48 hours he had been suffering some symptoms and our doctor got a little bit more concerned yesterday afternoon after it became more apparent what it could be, so thankfully he was in a good position to be seen by a specialist and get it operated on straightaway”.
Southgate added that it was a “huge disappointment for him and for us. He’s had a few camps where he’s had injuries or it just hasn’t worked out”.
Next up for England in their qualifying journey are North Macedonia and Malta, two of the lowest-seeded teams in the qualifying round. However, Southgate highlighted the importance of turning up well in these two games, not being complacent and most importantly demonstrating that they can be the best in Europe over the next 13 months.
He said: “If we start to think we haven’t got to turn up for games in June because the world ranking of our opponents isn’t as high as we’ve had now then we’re in trouble really. We’re challenging the team to be the best in Europe over the next 13 months, and that requires everyone's commitment, everybody to be prepared, to play whenever and that requires the standards of training to be the highest”.
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Saka’s ‘hunger’ and ‘humility’ his greatest attributes
Today’s Player of the Match Bukayo Saka was thoroughly praised by Gareth Southgate in the post-match conference. The Arsenal winger now has eight goals and seven assists across 26 caps for England, with Southgate describing how “when he’s in front of goal now he plays with real belief, that’s evident with his club and evident with the games with us.
"We’re expecting him to score now whenever he goes through. I think that’s as much of a mentality shift as it is technical. He knows that to be a really top wide player, you need the number of goals and assists, and without doubt, he’s done that all season".
Pressed further on Saka and what drives him, Southgate explained that “his hunger, his humility are what’s got him on a good path. He has all the attributes to continue to learn because that’s how he’s wise”.
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Bellingham praises ‘nastiness’ in England
Another star performer, Jude Bellingham, who claimed his 24th England cap today with a fine display in the centre of midfield. He bossed players off the ball, created plentiful chances and carried the ball forward for England all game long, demonstrating why he is coveted by some of Europe’s top clubs.
In his interview, Bellingham was pressed on whether he would ever want to captain England, and he made no effort to hide his desire. He said, “that would be a dream… it’s the biggest honour in world football to captain your country, especially a country like England”.
However, as always, the Dortmund youngster was humble and down to earth describing how he is focusing on is improving week after week. Bellingham spoke about how he has “so much to learn… I’m like a sponge … I want to be a midfielder that can win you games at both ends of the pitch”.
“When I’m playing I’m thinking of a million different things of how I can be better".
The 19 year old midfielder, who was born on the 29th of June 2003, praised the “brilliant atmosphere in the changing rooms” as well as the “bit of nastiness from me, Hendo (Jordan Henderson) and Dec (Declan Rice)".
Already looking ahead to England’s next games, Bellingham described how “we should be looking at the group and thinking we can win every game”, echoing the words of his manager.
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Important to keep challenging Kane
Harry Kane netted his 55th England goal in today’s victory over Ukraine, and after the game described how it had been a "magical week". Southgate was keen to point out that it’s not just his goals which make him a special player.
“I know his goals are important to him, but I like his all round performances. He was strong against both pairs of centre-backs he had to play against, he was backing into players, and he was aggressive with his play”.
In addition, Southgate pointed out that it is important to keep pushing England’s captain, and turn him into an even better player.
“I think he is someone that it would be easy to get drawn into not challenging but we’ve got to challenge him as well…his individual accolades are well deserved and amazing but he wants be part of a team that is successful. That’s the drive with us for England to achieve that.”
A few words on a magical week. Thank you all for the support and messages. 🙌🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/Rcwc9m0oaA
— Harry Kane (@HKane) March 26, 2023 " rel="nofollow">http://
A few words on a magical week. Thank you all for the support and messages. 🙌🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/Rcwc9m0oaA
— Harry Kane (@HKane) March 26, 2023